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Triangulation and Orbit Determination

Bright Meteor of 15th January 2014 at 18:45:16 GMT

At 18:45:16 GMT on 15th January 2014 a very bright, slow moving meteor was detected on at least three NEMETODE cameras. Initial trajectory analysis suggests it became visible to the west of Anglesey, before heading on a east-north-east trajectory across the Irish Sea towards Blackpool. The maximum magnitude derived from NEMETODE data is -2.2 although part of the trail was outside the field of view of our cameras and hence it may have been bright enough to be classed as a fireball. Visual observers are strongly encouraged to submit their reports to the Armagh Fireball Report Page. Note that the Ravensmoor camera has been rotated clockwise through 90 degrees within its housings in order to minimise local overlap (see Nodes) and so what appears to be the bottom of the field of view is actually the left hand side.

It now seems probable that this bright meteor was responsible for triggering the emergency response reported here and here. The sonic boom from the meteor could have been the loud noise reported by locals around 19:00 GMT as it would have taken approximately 10 minutes to reach South Wales. The bright meteor has been reported to the Coastguard at Milford Haven and they concur that it (currently) is the most likely explanation. ... individuals who believe they may have heard the sonic boom are requested to submit their report to the Armagh Fireball Report Page ... of particular interest will be their location and the precise time at which they heard the sound. This event features in the article "From Deckchairs to Desktops" in the May 2013 issue of Astronomy Now.

Clicking on the image of the meteor itself will download / play a .wmv file of the event itself. Details of the date, time and location are shown in the text at the bottom of each video clip. In addition, we've also included images of the derived ground track and orbit.
All images and videos are available for individual personal use. The copyright resides with the authors and their written permission must be obtained in advance of any public and / or commercial use.
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